This is the first module in the Solar Dynamic Observatory (SDO) Project Suite curriculum. Activities are self-directed by students or student teams using online videos and data from the SDO satellite to explore, research and build knowledge about...(View More) features of the Sun. Students build vocabulary, apply or demonstrate learning through real world connections, and creating resources to use in their investigations. Each activity comes with both a teacher and student guide with sequential instructions and embedded links to the needed videos and internet resources. Activity 1A: Structure of the Earth's Star takes students through the features and function of the Sun's structures using online videos, completing a "Sun Primer" data sheet using information from the videos, and creating a 3D origami model of the Sun. Students use a KWL chart to track what they have learned. Activity 1B: Observing the Sun has students capture real solar images from SDO data to find and record sunspots and track their movement across the surface of the Sun. Activity 1C has students create a pin-hole camera to use in calculating the actual diameter of the Sun, and then calculate scales to create a Earth-Sun scale model. Students reflect on their learning and results at the end of the module. An internet connection and access to computers are needed to complete this module.(View Less)

This is a lesson about the categorization of the three domains of life on Earth and how they relate to the study of astrobiology. Learners will explore, compare, discuss, and explain the basic differences between organisms assigned to the...(View More) eukaryotic, bacterial, and archaeal domains. Topics in astrobiology are explored through projects, vocabulary reinforcement, and drawing assignments. Includes teacher notes, learning objectives, and assessment of prior knowledge and preconceptions. This is Lesson 1 in Exploring Deep-Subsurface Life. Earth Analogues for Possible Life on Mars: Lessons and Activities.(View Less)